Valentine Chocolates
by snuggle the muggle
Summary: Harry has only ever gotten one Valentine in his life -- and it's one he'd rather forget. Ginny takes it upon herself to change his opinion of the holiday. Fluff and snogging abound in this one-shot story.


This is a one-shot story I wrote as a gift for Valentine's Day. I was pleased with how it turned out. I hope that you like it too. Definite fluff warning! This is a totally different universe from my Return to the Wizarding World story, so don't get confused. 

Valentine Chocolates

"I've got to get her something decent for Valentine's day. She'll be expecting it. Well, I mean I want to get her something, but I really don't have any great ideas." Ron was fretting as he and Harry sat together in the Gryffindor common room about a week before Valentine's day. Ron and Hermione had been officially a couple now since before Christmas and everyone loved the fact they weren't fighting any more (much) but Valentine's Day had sneaked up on Ron and he was going to have to get her a gift that would be worthy of a true girlfriend and with his limited time and limited funds, he was desperate for an idea. 

"Don't look at me, Ron. I don't know anything about Valentine's Day. I think I've only ever gotten one Valentine myself and I don't think Hermione would like a repeat." Ron started laughing, remembering along with Harry the fiasco of their second year when Lockhart had insisted on singing Valentines and Harry had gotten one comparing his eyes to the green of a fresh-pickled toad. It had been one of a whole series of humiliating events that year, one that most people still remembered and brought up at the worst moments. Harry heard an embarrassed squeak from across the room and glanced over to see Ginny sitting there, her face buried in her hands. 

Ron nudged him with his elbow. "She's still really embarrassed about that, I think. Constant source of torment from Fred and George." 

Harry bit his lip. He hadn't meant to remind her about it. She had only been 11 and he had long since forgiven her. He stood up and walked over to where she was sitting. "Gin." She looked up, her cheeks flushed. "It's all right. I'm sorry that I brought it up." 

"It really did sound better when I wrote it than it did with that disgusting troll singing it, Harry, honest. And I meant for it to be humorous. Really I did . . .just not that humorous." She met his eyes and smiled. "Is that really the only Valentine you've ever gotten?" 

"Yeah. But that's okay. It's a stupid holiday anyway." He smiled back at her. "I guess some year I'll have a girlfriend and then I'll have to worry about it but not now." He looked over at Ron, who was running his hands through his hair and making strange groaning noises. "I think I'll head upstairs. Good night, Ginny." 

"Good night, Harry." 

She watched him as he climbed the first few stairs up to the boy's dormitory. It was unthinkable to her that the only Valentine he had ever gotten was such a terrible experience. After all, Valentines didn't have to be just for romantic lovers, they could be between friends, too. She would have to see to it that he got a Valentine this year. A nice one. One that would forever banish the memory of the singing troll. She got up and walked over to Ron who was now frantically looking through an owl-order catalog hoping for some inspiration. 

"Does anyone like Harry?" 

"What? Of course. We all like Harry."

"No. I mean, do any girls like Harry . . . in a romantic sense of the word, I mean?"

"Uh. No. I don't think so. If they do, they are sure keeping mum about it. Cho's dating some other idiot and other than her, I think you're the only one who ever really felt about him that way." 

That was just not true. Ginny knew that lots of girls in school thought Harry was very good looking and would have loved to date him, but he tended to be extremely moody and grouchy and most girls thought that a relationship with him would be more trouble than it was worth. Plus, she had to admit that anyone who dated Harry would never be the center of attention. Harry's mere existence was news and everywhere he went he attracted stares. It would be hard to date someone like that. Except that he was Harry. It wouldn't be that bad, she was sure. Not that she would ever know. She left Ron sitting there and headed up to her own room, muttering to herself. "Stupid blind girls in this school . . . that's all I can say." 

Over the next few days, Ginny approached a few girls who had expressed some attraction toward the boy, but no one was willing to put themselves on the line and send him a Valentine. She finally realized that "if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself" and resolved that she would have to send him one. A nice one. No singing trolls this time. It would be a friendship Valentine. No romance involved. At all. None. 

The night before Valentine's Day, then, she sat with parchment, quill, and scissors and wondered what she could do to make Harry a friendship Valentine. She had an idea what she wanted to say but beyond that, she was stumped. She had thought about buying him a present because she had a little money saved up. But she didn't want to get him anything "romantic" and she knew that no amount of pleading, begging, or explaining would convince the twins to send him a nice normal box of chocolates. They might look normal until he ate one or something and she did not want a repeat of her first year. The idea here was to convince Harry that Valentine's Day could be nice, not to scare him off of it forever. 

Finally, she decided that it at least had to look like a Valentine, even if the sentiment inside was friendly, or it would just be a regular note of support and he would never even consider it a Valentine. So she reluctantly charmed her parchment two different shades of pink, cut out some heart shapes, and proceeded to assemble Harry's First Valentine Ever. That was how she thought of it, a project, that was all. Something no one else was willing to do for him. But she would do it because he deserved it and because she had been the cause of his dislike for Valentine's Day to begin with. It served her right. 

The next day was a rather strange one for Ginny. Harry made no acknowledgment that anything special was happening at all. Ginny kept trying to catch him off by himself somewhere so she could give him his card without anyone else seeing and assuming it was romantic. But she was having a hard time because Ron was very nervous about giving his present to Hermione and kept hanging around Harry for moral support. She had worried all through her classes, stared at him through all three meals, and watched him carefully while they were all at the library studying. Now it was almost bedtime and she still hadn't given him the card. Ron had finally decided that his time had come and had stolen Hermione away out the portrait hole for a little romantic Valentine-type snogging and gift exchanges. Harry was supposedly reading but he also looked like he was trying very hard to ignore all the snogging and romance that was going on throughout the common room. Ginny took a deep breath and walked over to him, the pink card held tightly in one hand. In her other, she held a box of chocolates that her mum had sent her this morning. She was going to pass it on to Harry. They were her favorite kind but as her mum had sent them she could at least be assured that they wouldn't explode. 

"Harry?" Her voice came out all squeaky sounding and she blushed. He looked up and smiled at her. He had the most amazing smiles. They were rare but when she saw them, she just wanted to . . . Well. No time for that. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Harry. I have something for you." She held out the card and candy. "It's a Valentine. To make up for the other one. Happy Valentine's Day." Harry blinked in surprise and stared at the card. "Don't worry. It doesn't sing." He took it slowly and turned it over to read his name written on the front of the envelope. She laid the box of chocolates next to him on the couch and turned to head up to bed. All the snogging going on in this room was giving her a headache. But he grabbed her arm, stopping her progress. 

"Come sit down while I open it." 

"Oh, uh, no. I'm really tired. I think I'll go upstairs." 

"Come on. Sit down. Please." Ginny squirmed nervously. She hadn't thought he would actually read it while she was watching. How embarrassing. What if he didn't like it? But he seemed to be in no mood to let go of her arm, so apart from making a big scene, she didn't see that she had much choice. She sat down reluctantly after picking up the box of chocolates and waited for him to open the card. He slipped his finger under the flap and opened it, pulling out the card and looking it over. He opened it and read what was written inside. Ginny stared nervously around the room, wanting to look at anything but him. "Oh, Gin. That's nice. And thanks for the chocolates, too. You didn't need to do this." 

She relaxed marginally and shifted in her seat, then started when her leg brushed his. He stood up and looked down at her. Great, she thought. Now he thinks I'm chasing him again. A whole year of work down the tubes. She looked up at him, all ready to tell him that she would do it for any friend and that it wasn't any trouble. 

"I actually have a present for you, too." 

"You do?" That didn't make any sense. He said he didn't celebrate Valentine's Day and she was sure that even if he wanted to start, it wouldn't be with her. 

"Yeah. I didn't plan on it for today, but I've had it for a while and just haven't gotten around to giving it to you. So now seems like a good time." He flushed a little and stared at his shoes. "I don't have a card or anything." 

"That's all right. I don't care about that." 

Harry glanced around the common room. "Why don't you just come on upstairs with me and I'll get it for you." 

"I think I'll just wait down here." 

"You've been up there before. Everyone else is out on dates so we wouldn't be bothering anyone." He looked at her like he wondered about her sanity and she felt embarrassed that she had even let thoughts like that enter her head. He didn't want to do anything with her. He barely recognized she was a girl. 

"Well, that's true." She had been up in his room before, but not with just the two of them. Not lately. Not now that he was 16 and very handsome and . . . But she couldn't say that to him. 

"So, what's the problem?" Oh, no problem. Obviously he didn't have any issues with her being up in his room. She was just a friend to him, no more than Hermione or Ron. 

"Are you sure you want me to come up?" At Harry's nod, she agreed. "Okay. Sure." She followed him up the steps, wondering what the gift was. She couldn't imagine that he would have bought her something, but she couldn't really see him sitting and making her something either. She had to admit she was curious but she tried not to get too excited. He gave nice presents at Christmas, but this didn't sound like something that formal. He opened the door to the 6th years' room a few moments later and she stepped inside. She could immediately pick out Ron's bed. The bright orange pillowcase and the Chudley Cannons poster above it acted like a marker. Harry moved over to a bed next to Ron's and bent over the trunk at the foot of it. 

"Sit down. It might take me a minute to find it." Ginny thought about sitting on Ron's bed but in a sudden fit of daring, she sat down on Harry's bed and looked around. His stuff was neat, almost sterile, compared to all the other boys' beds in the room. They all had posters on the walls, pictures on the night stands, even some discarded clothes or books tossed on the bed or on the floor nearby. But Harry's walls were bare, there was nothing on his night stand at all, and the floor around his bed was practically spotless. Some might think that he was just exceptionally tidy, but Ginny just thought it was sad. Teenage boys were not supposed to be this disconnected from clutter. It wasn't natural. She glanced over at Harry. He had carefully removed several items from his trunk and now was putting them back. He stood and walked over to where Ginny sat on his bed. "It's not much, really. But I hope you'll like it." He handed her a rather crudely wrapped flat package and sat down on the bed next to her. She opened the wrapping carefully, really not sure what to expect. It was . . . herself. She looked down at her own smiling face and caught her breath. 

She pulled it out of the paper and looked at it more carefully. It was a framed picture. Of her and Harry. And they were both smiling and laughing at each other, caught obviously after a Quidditch game because they were both in their robes and carrying their brooms. She was looking up at him with the usual obvious adoration but what made her really like the picture was the way Harry was looking at her. It was not disinterested or cool at all. It was, well, not exactly friendly. It was almost . . . protective. Almost loving. "I love it, Harry. I do. Thank you." She turned to him and broke out laughing. He had a mouthful of chocolate and his eyes were open wide, obviously not planning on her seeing him eating her present. 

He swallowed after a minute, flushing slightly under her gaze. "Sorry. They looked good. I'm glad you like it. Colin gave it to me and I had him make me a copy for you." A copy? This was a copy? That meant he had kept one for himself. And he had framed hers. Ginny's heart took a sudden leap and she didn't want to think too hard about why. She tried hard to regain her composure. 

"They are good. They're my favorite." 

"Have one, then." 

Ginny looked over the box. These were caramels and nuts and he had already eaten a caramel. She picked up a toffee and popped it into her mouth. She chewed carefully, embarrassed at how closely Harry was watching her mouth. She finally swallowed. "Thanks. That's really good. Muggle candy. Dad gets it for us sometimes." Harry had another one, this time a turtle - pecans and caramels together. "I love those, too." 

"Mmmm. These are really excellent." 

"I bet you used to eat these all the time." She selected another one out of the box, careful to pick one of the nuts. Obviously, he preferred the chewy ones. 

"Are you kidding? Like the Dursleys would share chocolate with me? It never happened."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot how stingy they were with you." 

"Stingy. That's a diplomatic way to put it." Harry settled back on his bed, turning his pillow so that he could lean against it. "How are things, Ginny? Are you about ready for your O.W.L.s?" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Is anyone ever ready for their O.W.L.s?" They talked and laughed for the next few minutes as they shared the box of chocolates between the two of them. It was fun watching him pick out his favorites and sometimes he'd bite into one and then make a face and hand it over to her. Ginny started to tease Harry by taking his favorite kinds out of the box and making him grab for them. He was doing the same to her although his longer arms were making it much harder for her to wrest them away from him than the other way around. To make it more fair, she said he could only get them with his teeth while she could use her hands. That worked for a while, making the game more evenly matched. She enjoyed teasing him because she didn't get to see him laughing very often. And especially not where he was this relaxed. 

Finally, she picked one out of the box that she knew he would really like. It was one of her favorites too, though, and she thought she might just bite part of it and then give the rest to him. He saw her pick it up out of the box and moved to grab it with his teeth, grinning as he chased the chocolate. When she popped it into her mouth, it was too late for him to pull back and his mouth met hers in a sudden mix of heat and chocolate. He pulled back quickly, looking at her with wide eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I didn't realize that -"

"That's all right. I didn't mean to -" She swallowed the chocolate quickly, licking her lips. 

They both looked at each other. She wasn't sure who moved first but suddenly his mouth covered hers again and this time, there was no chocolate between them. Her back was bent in a sort of strange position to reach him and he pulled her closer so she was more comfortable. They broke apart after a second. "You taste really good." His breathing was a little fast.

She smiled in response. "I taste like chocolate." 

"That must be it." His hand came up to run through her hair. "I like chocolate. A lot." And this time, the kiss was slow and when they broke apart a moment later, they were both breathing fast. Her eyes were wide. She desperately wanted to kiss him again but wasn't sure how to. He had leaned back against his pillow and was staring at her with a look on his face that she could not interpret. 

She stared at the floor and then at Ron's bed. She wasn't sure what to say, what to do. Would he want to kiss her again? She would die if he said he was sorry for kissing her. The silence seemed to stretch out for an hour. She dared to glance over at him again and was amazed to see that he had knelt up on the bed and was right next to her. "Ginny? Don't look away from me, please. I want to look at you." 

Oh, my. That was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her. She met his eyes. "I - I like looking at you, too, Harry." 

"Could I kiss you again?" Now she was sure she would die if he didn't. She was quite sure. She nodded faintly. 

"Would you, please?" His hand came up from his side and touched her cheek. He traced it down to her jaw and then he tilted her chin up. He smiled and bent toward her. She closed her eyes at the last moment before his mouth met hers. He tasted so good. Chocolate and caramel and something else that she couldn't really identify. His other hand slipped around the back of her head and held her in place as he pushed a little harder against her lips. She had never been so aware of her mouth and wondered if he felt the same way. His lips were warm but slightly rough and she caught her breath as she felt his tongue trace along the seam of her lips. She opened her mouth a little, unsure of what he wanted, hoping that it was what she wanted, too. 

Apparently it was because as soon as he felt her mouth open a little, he slipped his tongue inside and traced her teeth. She pulled back, suddenly, unsure of what to do now. It was wonderful, absolutely the most wonderful thing ever, but she didn't want to be greedy. He looked at her, not saying anything for a minute. Finally, "Is something wrong, Gin?" She shook her head. "Did I . . push you too fast?" She shook her head again. "Okay. Why did you pull away from me then?" 

"I don't know." Gee, such witty conversation. "I mean . . . I liked it. A lot." 

"You liked it?" 

"Yes, definitely." 

"That's good. I liked it, too." The tension seemed to evaporate between them and he laughed, settling back against his pillow again. He scooted over and patted the space next to him. "Come here. Maybe we can try it again. I thought it was just getting interesting." 

Her eyes widened and she wondered if she was imagining things. He didn't even sound like Harry. He seemed so . . . happy. But she decided she didn't care. It definitely was Harry and he wanted to kiss her again and that was all she wanted to think about right now. If she woke up from this dream in a little while, at least she would have the memory of the feeling of his mouth against hers and that was enough for today, maybe for a lifetime. She put the picture down on the end of the bed (she couldn't believe she was still holding it) and climbed over the bed to sit next to him. "So," he said, looking down at her as she sat next to him, "Where were we?" 

She blushed a little, and giggled. She suddenly got brave. She was determined to enjoy every minute of this unimaginable interval. "Here." And she reached up, pulled his head down to her, and kissed him. As his tongue again swept into her mouth, she met his with hers. Her hand pushed into his hair. It was thick, thicker than she had anticipated, and her hand tightened in it, reveling in the feeling of it between her fingers. She brought her other hand up to tangle in his hair also. She was trying to decide whether to pay attention to the way his mouth was moving over hers or the way his hair felt in her hands. 

Then, she had one more thing to pay attention to because his hand had settled on her shoulder but was starting to move down her arm. He tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer to him. The heat from his body was incredible She could never have imagined how amazing it would feel to be kissed by him. How overwhelming to every sense of her body. She never wanted this to end. He pushed a little harder against her and she somehow realized that she was laying down and he was leaning over her, his body against her from her hip to her shoulder. Okay. This was better. She didn't think is was possible for it to get better. 

He lifted his head and Ginny looked up at him. "Do you want me to stop yet?"

"No. Don't stop. Please." And he smiled one of those absolutely heart-stopping smiles and kissed her again, slowly opening her mouth with his and settling against her in a possessive sort of way that made her heart pound even harder than it already was. She could have done this forever, longer than forever, if they hadn't heard a noise out in the hall. Harry rolled off of her instantly and she sat up, gasping for air, every cell of her being crying out at the deprivation. The door to the dorm opened and Neville walked in. 

"Oh, sorry. Harry. Ginny." He flushed bright pink at seeing them as disheveled as they were, but Ginny knew that he had been off snogging his girlfriend as well, so she wasn't embarrassed. 

"That's okay, Neville. I've got to go anyway." She picked up the picture from the end of bed, noting with pleasure that Harry had set the Valentine card up on his otherwise bare night stand. She didn't know when he had done it, but she thought it looked nice there. "I . . .Happy Valentine's Day, Harry." 

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ginny. That was the best Valentine I've ever gotten." Harry stood up and she saw with flushed pleasure how rumpled his bed was. It looked good that way, like someone actually slept there. He came close to her again and they walked together over to the door. "I guess you've got to go to bed?" 

"Yeah. I better. But maybe tomorrow night. We could study together?" She hoped he would say yes. 

His eyes crinkled at the corners as he grinned. "That sounds wonderful. Definitely. Studying together. I don't suppose you could get any more chocolate?" She smiled, knowing he was kidding. 

"Sorry. Maybe next year." 

"Every Valentine's Day from now on, okay?"

"Okay." And she went down the stairs, feeling happier than she had in a very long time. It was the best box of chocolates she had ever had. 

The End


End file.
